IGM exec and Alzheimer’s Society board member explores the industry’s role
Vas Pachapurkar is uniquely positioned to explore the financial services industry’s role in serving clients with Alzheimer’s. The National Vice President, Private Wealth at IG Wealth Management spends his working hours supporting the firm’s most elite advisory teams as they serve complex clients. After work, he volunteers his time as a board member at the Alzheimer’s Society of Toronto, working to support those suffering from a condition that has affected his own family members. Pachapurkar knows just how devastating this condition can be, and he knows how advisors can help shoulder some of its burden for Canadians affected by it.
Pachapurkar explained how he thinks advisors can best go about serving clients suffering from Alzheimer’s. He emphasized how some of the forward planning steps advisor can encourage, like designating powers of attorney, often result in far better outcomes for everyone involved. He highlighted, too, some of the mistakes advisors and clients can make around this illness that results in a heavier burden for everyone involved. He stressed the importance of talking about this condition, no matter how difficult or unseemly the conversations may be.
“The challenge for us in the industry is that clients might not take their legal documents seriously enough,” Pachapurkar says. “Even a will, what they may do is do a simple kit and that’s not really the way to go. You really want to consult with some kind of estate lawyer and get things in place properly. And you want to review them regularly because family dynamics change as you get older.”
Powers of attorney (POA), Pachapurkar stresses, play a crucial role but are often missed by clients and advisors. Clients may not want to designate someone as their POA because they fear the burdens that places on the designated person, or the power that person may have over them in a vulnerable place. Pachapurkar explains that these are usually borne of misunderstandings of the actual role of the POA, and that advisors can educate clients to remove these fears. Failing to push for a robust POA designation is one of the biggest mistakes advisors can make around clients with Alzheimer’s, Pachapurkar believes.
There are plenty of other areas where advisors can slip up around Alzheimer’s. Pachapurkar stresses the progressive nature of this condition, explaining that a client with a diagnosis may still demonstrate clear mental capacity for a long time. Moreover, they may attribute real symptoms to the normal cognitive declines that come with aging. Advisors need to stay cognizant of these developments but also recognize the periods where capacity and coherence can break through.
Opening conversations for clients about this subject can be difficult, as many people are uncomfortable around the idea of a neurodegenerative illness. Pachapurkar says that, as with so many other topics, the power of storytelling cannot be understated. Using either personal stories, client stories, or the stories of people in an advisor’s wider orbit can help demonstrate the importance of appropriate forward planning.
Often times those stories can prompt the necessary actions, whether that’s designating POAs before a possible diagnosis, or simplifying investments and decreasing risk tolerance and volatility should a diagnosis eventually be made.
Pachapurkar’s own experience with the Alzheimer’s Society of Toronto has offered him and his firm an instructive array of insight into the condition. Through that work he has gained a more full understanding of the role of caregivers and support workers in this condition. He has developed a deep knowledge, through his professional and volunteer work, of the tax credits available for those who need caregivers and other forms of support. He has heard countless personal stories of families struggling with the condition and has been able to turn those stories into proactive plans. Members of his own family have struggled with Alzheimer’s and dementia and Pachapurkar knows the toll that caregiving can take. He also knows that advisors can help build plans that alleviate some of the financial hardships of caregiving, and also allow for someone facing a difficult diagnosis to leave a positive impact of their own.
A growing number of clients are including philanthropy in their financial plans and Pachapurkar notes that the experiences they have facing a condition like Alzheimer’s may prompt them to designate supports for others with the condition or for research into more effective treatments. He believes that another area where advisors can add value here is in that discussion of a philanthropy plan.
As Canadians continue to live longer and the baby boomer generation ages into higher incidences of Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative illnesses, Pachapurkar argues that the wealth management industry has to step up and help educate both advisors and their clients. Firms can look for partners in the charitable space to provide resources, and encourage the kind of storytelling among their advisors that brings people into these difficult but important conversations.
“It’s a challenge for most advisors and most families, it's hard to have them all at the table together to talk about the reality of what can happen and who's going to be responsible for this,” Pachapurkar says. “It’s hard to do, clients don't necessarily want to open up at that level, and usually they only open up when something bad has happened. That’s why this industry needs to constantly raise awareness.”
